


Dream a Little Dream

by Sariau



Series: Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Balance (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, School of Magic!Swap, Spoilers up to Stolen Century, What if?, and tag?, cursing, how do I beach?, ish?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-06 14:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11602233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sariau/pseuds/Sariau
Summary: The Light of Creation. What a powerful thing. It doesn’t have a classification of what it is other than it’s own name. The Light of Creation. And even that is only a name. It is so, so much more.Because it is aware, and it can hear the wishes and dreams of those around it.There are seven birds that herald its presence, search for it, and then leave whether they succeed or not, and the Light of Creation waits behind the curtains of the space in between for another cycle to repeat the process. These seven birds have been circling it for longer than others before, so when they all unite for a single wish, who is it to deny these close friends?So it falls right towards them on one of the next cycles, and allows itself to be split. One piece for each of these birds- these magpies. One piece of something shiny for each bird immune to its allure after so long together.Only, these are not the same birds told in stories by people not physically there to tell. These birds are a little… different.And because of this, so too are the splinters it allows itself to become.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Basically shuffling around Arcane Traditions in the IPRE. Can you guess who has what? Or maybe what they're going to make? I tried to have them make sense without altering their personality too much.
> 
> Also: This is not what I was intending to write yesterday, but TAZ has my muse over for tea or something...

The Taacos have been saving up for a long while. Almost from their first steps on the road, they have been saving up for this- planning for this. And it has been a long while since then.

So the twins can afford it when they hop from one arcana division to another once they have taken in all there is to offer. The only ones disappointed are their fellow classmates who they studied with during major exams, and the more distant observers when the twins decide to try out a new spell- or ~~better~~ worse, when they decide to tweak one they already know. The professors are not sad to see them go with arms loaded with so many diplomas that it might have been a record. Some debated if the record wasn’t the number of fundamental laws broken during their time at the Schools of Magic.

Each twin has a preference to the type of spells they cast, so they split the work between them, becoming a force of magic and well-roundedness that most wizards can’t compete with alone.

Taako prefers being a distance away from the fight, while Lup is in her opponent’s face before they can draw their weapon. Taako fucks his opponents up with eldritch horrors, and sometimes Lup has to prevent her brother from going too far.

They balance each other, they fill in the gaps the other leaves open. They sometimes even pull the ‘twin-switch’ thing when days are slow going.

They don’t know what they planned on doing after crushing it at the Schools of Magic. It had been such a far-flung goal when they were young, and sure, there were things to do right after. There were studies and research, and conventions to go to. But everything started to get all same-y, and bored twins are never a good thing.

Luckily enough for this plane of existence, something new catches their attention before it gets too far.

The Institute of Planar Research and Investigation is making its way towards the front of research journals. Gaining traction at the appearance of this thing called the _Light of Creation_.

So they apply. Then apply again when Lup lost her temper with the interviewer. She won’t say exactly what set her off when Taako asks, and the interviewer is no longer in any state to recall. Then again after Taako tries to impress a little too hard, and the onlookers all make appointments with their psychiatrists.

Third time's the charm when the interviewer, a distinctive gnome with a straight back and fashionable mustache, asks for them to show up together. Lup reigns Taako in from breaking brains, and Taako derails conversations when they become a bit touchy for Lup.

They get the job- a shared position of arcana specialist, with a side serving of chefs.

Davenport is smug when his coworkers grow jealous of the spread his branch is treated to every meal of the day. They snubbed the twins first, so it’s only right that Davenport reap the benefits. He is not above using the lunch break to share with a prospect or two he has an eye on stealing from other departments.

* * *

When Davenport needs something that doesn’t exist, he goes to the Twins. It’s a coin toss on whether they can solve his problem in a few minutes, or take longer than his dedicated researchers. So when he finds them in the kitchens, whipping up a meringue and heating up some coals respectively, he asks without any preamble, “I need a material that’s as lightweight as possible while also being a perfect insulator to magic, temperature, and vibrations.” His researchers are at their wit’s end trying to find or create something or a combination of somethings to satisfy those conditions, and the project is pushing the time tables back the longer it takes.

“Does it need to be flexible? What conditions are you expecting this stuff to handle? It’s going on the ship, right?” Lup asks, and Davenport smells burnt hair as she approaches from the grill. She must’ve gotten too close to the coals again.

“It needs to at least be repairable. As the barrier that protects the ship, yes. We don’t know what’s out there, so better safe than sorry.”

Lup hums, bringing a hand to her chin in a thoughtful manner. “Sounds like you need either a vacuum or a void. Taako?”

Taako slams something down as he involves himself in the conversation from the other side of the kitchen- which is quite a ways away, but Davenport is no longer surprised by the Twins. “Void is better, though I’m not sure how it would handle crossing planes. The hard part is getting in and out once you seal it up.” The male elf calls from where he is. “Magic is slippery, and the seams where the entrance would be wide enough for it to slip in.” Yes, that’s typically where Davenport’s researchers get stumped.

“But you’ve got that circle thing, right? We wouldn’t need entrances to get in if we have a portal, and then it would be sealed from outside influences.” Taako’s hum of acknowledgement could barely be heard over the din of the kitchen. “Put a couple plants in there, and we won’t even suffocate!” Lup grinned. Of course, they already have their place on the ship. It was one of the conditions they insisted on during their application, and not many were interested on an exploration that might end up being a one way trip. So he agreed.

Taako saunters over with flour everywhere, the white powdery stuff falling off in waves with every sharp click of his boots. Davenport is pretty sure Taako had been making meringue cookies just then, and he is pretty sure the elf hadn’t been covered in flour the last time he glanced over. “So, a perfect void and a way to control its shape? I think I can cook something up!”

Lup dives for the hand reaching for a wand with a shout of, “Taako, _NO_ !” She slips the wand out of his hand and thwaps her brother with it. “No magic in the kitchen, especially if you’re working on a subatomic level.” She sighs and smiles ruefully at their boss. “At least wait until you’re on the training-” there was a quiet _pop_ and Taako along with his wand are gone. “-field. Boss?”

“Yes Lup?” Davenport answers evenly, feeling the tension in that single word, and worried because of it.

“There’s no one scheduled for the training field at this moment, right?” She isn't looking at him, facing towards the outer wall of the kitchen with a pleasantly blank face.

He thinks back to the sheet pinned to his corkboard in his office. “Not to my knowledge, no. Do you think there would be that much collateral damage?” As soon as he says that, he winces. Right. Taako is involved.

Lup’s smirk grows into a grin when the building they’re in- which is by no means small- starts to shake and tremble. The building is also on the other side of the grounds appointed to the IPRE. A good ten miles away. “That answer your question, sir?”

* * *

The first person he contacts when he finally, _finally_ gets funding is also the last one to be hired for the two month exploration.

Merle had been a longtime coworker persuaded to join after he hired the Twins. Barry had been hired as part of his researchers, and involved in the creation of the ship, so the human would be the best of both realms. Magnus had been a stroke of good luck. The beast of a man had helped Davenport in an altercation one night on his way home, and the gnome had recognized the human the next week during the applications for a security specialist.

But he finally gets a response from the ghost writer of so many popular biographies and other documents. He had almost been about to contact his second choice too. The letter only has two sentences; nine words total that don’t stretch past the first line.

>   _I accept the position. When do I show up?_

_Well_ , Davenport muses as he digs up an envelope and stamp from the unorganized drawer of his desk, _not everything written by an author is going to be eloquent_. He pens a response, and has it sent on its way before lunch.

* * *

Davenport sighs as he hangs up his jacket uniform. The day had been a long one, and the next promised to be even longer. The interview went about as well as it could with the personalities on his crew. He had to get to sleep, knowing that his crew is enjoying their last night before they take off. He allows himself a glass of Fey Wine before bed, and finishes off the food the Twins had made the day before. It takes a simple spell to reheat it, and it is still delicious.

His home is empty, most of the furniture has been moved to his room on the Starblaster, and the property will be sold if he doesn’t make it back. The money would go back to the Institute, it’s not like he has any family left. It’s a wonder his life has changed so much in a year.

The gnome wonders if the others made similar preparations.

* * *

They’re taking off as something dark descends. Davenport is a little busy to identify just what he is guiding his ship around, but he keeps his ears peaked for what his crew observes.

“What is that stuff?” Of course it’s Barry the first to ask. It’s part of his job to know and learn these things. “Ichor? It almost looks like rainbow obsidian.”

“No.” Lucretia's quiet horror answers, and Davenport chances a look back to see her squinting out the window. “This is something much worse.”

Davenport doesn’t add to the conversation, and it eventually moves on to something else. The archivist had been the one to insist on pushing up the schedule- to leave as soon as possible.

He wonders if she knew this was coming.

* * *

This new plane is strange and weird. The sky is only purple for a short period of the day, and there are three suns circling around the planet they land on

Lup and Taako run off at the first chance to go exploring, coming back months later grunting a new language and information on where the _Light of Creation_ fell.

He’s just glad he sent Barry with them so he has an accurate archive of what’s being said. “Wassup, bitches?” Is definitely not what the Snow Owl greeted them with.

Magnus decides to fight the bear- of course, what else was Davenport expecting?

It is the first time they directly encounter the Hunger as they would later call it. It is the first time they lose a crew member. It is the first time they see what happens when the Hunger claims the _Light of Creation_. The Animal Kingdom is consumed, and the Hunger grows bigger. It is the first time they feel relief when Magnus is pieced back together, and everyone is reset back to the way they were in between the planes.

It is the first cycle, and Davenport fears the end of every cycle. Because, _what if this is their last_?

Would his crew be satisfied with that?

Would he?

* * *

Lup is probably the only one of the crew to really enjoy herself on their eighth cycle in the Mushroom Kingdom. She can let go and blast everything to her heart’s content. That it is helping the people here is just a bonus.

And Davenport can finally help her get a handle on those fire spells that always come out too powerful for her to control.

Her **_create flame_ ** will only burn down a medium sized dwelling by the time the year is up. Which is progress considering the same spell made great headway for the scorch teams before this cycle. A few more years of practice, and maybe he would be comfortable with her using **_fireball_**.

Not like that’s stopping her from casting it every which way on the path to the Starblaster.

It’s rather impressive, how much damage she can inflict.

* * *

Merle stays behind that time, spending his last few moments on that plane reassuring his religious followers of the might of his goddess, Haela Brightaxe. The Dwarf doesn’t even seem to realize that he’s back on the ship, continuing a prayer to the Lady of the Fray until its end.

No one comments, well aware that the stout dwarf would get his comeuppance for a slight against his goddess. It’s no wonder why everyone on the crew rolls their eyes or shakes their heads when Merle says he isn’t a religious man.

* * *

At the start of another cycle, Magnus bolts to one of the storage rooms near the hull of the ship. Davenport can’t follow after him, but he trusts his crew to find out what happened. Another cycle, another system of planes lost to the Hunger, another failure.

Merle stays on the bridge with him, and the gnome can hear the faint scribbling of Lucretia’s quill on another of her journals. The overall air of the bridge is tired. Lucretia, despite her age, has experienced and learned many things past her age. Merle and Davenport… well, they were approaching the end of the estimated lifespan for their race. Or they _had been_ before these cycles began.

As Davenport- the Captain of the ship- navigates the Starblaster to another planar system, he wonders what it will take for this story to end, and how far away are they from it?

Magnus returns with red but dry eyes, and reports that there is no way to take another being with them between the planes.

That doesn’t stop him from trying. That doesn’t stop him from hoping to protect the new friends he creates every year. It’s something Davenport admires about the human.

That Magnus still tries, even after the others have stopped bringing outsiders aboard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BEACH CYCLE!!! HELL YES!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the beach cycle the most out of the entire Stolen Century Arc, if only because this is where "MAGNUS!!!" happens. And it is such an open slate for goofing off, being a vacation world. The other cycles aren't going to get nearly this much screentime, I think.

Davenport can’t help the grin on his face as he takes the Starblaster down to land on a white, sandy beach. Just from circling around, and reading the sensors that Barry helped him install a couple cycles ago, tells him that this planet is entirely uninhabited.

While that will mean a few problems in the future- mainly food rationing near the end of the cycle if the plant life is toxic- that also means that this is almost a vacation cycle. After the previous one, Davenport really thinks they deserve one.

Then the _Light of Creation_ falls practically on their laps, and they have the rest of the year to themselves. He thinks Taako would be up for this sort of thing, and he is right.

The self-proclaimed elder twin is the first out, and he is dressed for the occasion. His hair already looks sunbleached and his skin tone a few shades darker than Lup’s. Davenport eyes him sideways once he finally is finished with end of flight procedures, and decides not to question it.

Magnus is pestering Merle for tips on beach-life, and is caught unawares by a mischievous elf, and an evocation spell. Magnus notices the strange shadow half a second too late. The human glances up with a confused furrow to his brow that quickly smooths out at the sight of the wave towering over him. Almost like it was waiting for him to notice it, it falls under gravity’s might, and down onto Magnus.

Merle, who has seen the ambush coming, and has taken two strategic steps that would take him out of the blast range, is bent over laughing. His glasses slide down the bridge of his nose, and Davenport quickly directs his attention to something else.

Magnus breaks the surface with a splutter, looking more like a drowned cat than anything else with a glare to match. Looks like the attack was weak enough to do no damage, only surprise the human. His glare jumps from one crewmember to another, before settling on the dwarf. “When I was asking for tips, I didn’t mean I wanted first-hand experience.” Merle wheezes, more on the sand than upright at this point. “You know this means war.”

That stops the dwarf’s laughing in a hurry, but anything Merle tries to say to convince Magnus of his innocence is dismissed. Poor guy.

Davenport sidles up to Lup. She is busy making a sandcastle with her brother, and also in the perfect position to hide her shaking shoulders and silent laughter behind her twin. They are also as drenched as Magnus, which means the wave got them on its way to the human. “You need to work on your spell sculpting.” He comments idly, joining them in digging the moat. At least the sand is wet enough to stay together.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lup answers, turning to him and showing her wand tucked into her hair. She’s grinning, like the cat that got the cream. “But if I did, I’d say that I did it on purpose. We look like victims, after all.”

Davenport stares unconvinced at her for a few moments, then raises a brow at Taako. “I was _very_ surprised when a magical wave of unknown origin came flooding over us.” He narrows his eyes at his sister, then gestures at his attire. “I’ve been saving this outfit for the beach for years, and it’s drenched before I could be swept up in the tide.”

Which means, no, Lup hadn’t done that on purpose. Well, he figured. Lup didn’t have spell sculpting as a skill- no matter how hard she practiced. She'll get there... eventually.

Lup rolls her eyes as Taako’s dramatics. “Bullshit. You wore that two cycles ago. You know, when you were-” She gets tackled before she can finish the sentence.

Davenport is pretty sure he hears Taako hiss, _“You promised to never mention that again, you turd!”_ The captain clears his throat into his hand. The sound draws the Twins’ attention, and Lup is able to escape being force fed sand for lunch.

He’s enjoying the playfulness that the two are displaying, but he feels like there isn't going to be an end, just a constant one-up on each other until it's a full-scale war. With border skirmishes and diplomats and armies.

It’s still nice to see them acting so young. Especially so since they have no clue how old they are. They explained one late night over pitchers of coffee when topics wandered, that they hadn’t reached their majority when they started their travels on the road. That the years blended together, and they weren’t sure which century they were when they finally applied for schooling.

They grin unrepentantly at him, and he can almost see children in their place, before they retreat to the tide to attack each other with the spray.

* * *

Everyone seems to be adapting to life on the beach as well as can be expected. Which is to say: way too well.

Davenport looks up and compares the height of the Starblaster to the impossibly large sandcastle. The life sized castle made of sand. Where he is quite sure he helped dig the moat- and it’s a real moat now, with the ocean pouring into it with every wave. The moat, that has its own mechanized drawbridge.

He took the Starblaster on a week long trip to survey the planet they’re spending the year on at Lucretia’s request, and he returns to this ridiculousness. He sighs, and tries to ignore the Journal Keeper inspecting the outer wall with fascination.

 **_“MAGNUS!”_ ** Davenport doesn’t even blink at the ambush. The same couldn’t be said for Lucretia, who tipped a little too far forward, and fell into the moat. He turns to watch the Protector help his fellow human out of the water with admonishments to be more vigilant.

The gnome wonders where Magnus had been hiding to do his sneak attack; there isn’t anything to hide behind nearby, and the sand isn’t- ah. There is a relatively Magnus-shaped divot in the sand a little ways away. He must have buried himself, and waited for them to return.

Davenport doesn’t sigh again, but it is a near thing. “Magnus,” He calls, and waves his hand at the sandcastle, “an explanation, if you’d be so kind.”

“Sandcastle competition!” He chirps the answer. “Me ‘n Lup against Barry and Taako. Merle’s the judge!” Magnus gushes about the categories, and penalties for breaking rules, and then backtracking to explain the rules. Lucretia is scribbling down her arm with the absence of a book to write in.

Davenport nods along, but he can’t help but ask, “So where’s the other sandcastle?”

Magnus blinks at him blankly, then points over Davenport’s shoulder.

The captain turns, and he finds himself speechless.

That… That hadn’t been there before. Davenport swears that there had been a bank of trees- palm trees- swaying there when he looked earlier. Even the Starblaster hadn’t picked it up.

Davenport turns, and he sees a pyramid. On the life size scale of an actual pyramid found in a desert.

Davenport turns, and sees a very smug elf leaning against the side of his creation. Taako approaches with a swagger to his step, and Davenport notices that the elf has somehow gotten a shark-tooth necklace on this unpopulated planet. _Oh right,_ he thinks numbly, still a bit in shock, _magic._

“Told ya it works!” Taako crows. “It is **so** a _viable “method of defense,”_ dummy. Way better than a dinky moat!”

Magnus cries in offense. “At least we didn’t go overboard, and can protect it all on our own.”

Taako’s grin widens. “We don’t have to. The traps will take care of any pests, and it’s a maze to get to the inner chambers.”

Davenport shakes his head. Only his crew. He cards a hand through his hair. Only his crew would do something like this in a week. The gnome turns to see how Lucretia is handling herself, and her beseeching look is almost expected.

He gives into the urge to sigh, and interrupts the argument. “You think there’s room for one more group in this competition?”

In the end, Merle awards best sandcastle to Davenport and Lucretia. Whether it is because they stuck with something that appealed to a beach scene, or they were the least annoying is something that Merle refuses to divulge.

“You think we should say something?” Lucretia asks, leaning on a sandstone banister, standing on a sandstone porch, that is attached to a sandstone cabin on sandstone stilts. Neither captain or archivist are experts in Transmutation or Conjuration, but they’re not their worst subjects either. The time it takes for them to get it right also lets them add in all the details they want. Like a wood grain to the cabinets. And glass for the windows.

“Nah. It’s still good practice.” Davenport answers, gathering up some supplies to enjoy the sunset. Then he raises his voice to be heard all the way to the water. “And if I catch someone trying to sneak up on me, I’m going to bury them until the end of the year!”

There is some muttering that Davenport catches over the sound of the ocean, and he spots a shadowy shape slink away to the castle. Lucretia chuckles, and he smirks through his agitation. It _had_ been pretty funny when Magnus surprised him the other night.

* * *

“Really Taako?”

“What? What’d I do?!?”

“A Portuguese Man O'War? Really? You realize that there's no living organism evolved past plant life on this plane, right? You had to have made it.”

“Nope! Wasn't me! Could've been Barrold!”

“Not buying it, Taako. Plus, Barry’s too sweet to make such a painful creature.”

“You think Barry is _sweet_? A decade ago, you thought he was worse than a band geek.”

“Yes, he's sweet in a nerdy way. Don't change the subject, though. You know the stuff you've been making is probably the reason why Merle’s so sick, right?”

“I'm not worried, he's got Magnus to look out for him.”

> **_“MAGNUS!”_ **
> 
> _“Eerraahhggh!! Why are you doing this?”_
> 
> _“You gotta be ready, Merle, an attack can happen at any time.”_

“See? Maggie’s got it covered!”

“Sometimes I wonder how we’re related.”

* * *

Lup joins him as the sun goes down. It’s a pretty bright night out, with a full moon and no clouds in the sky. She burns a little more easily than him- and isn’t that strange? They’re twins, but this is another thing that makes them different from each other. She prefers to enjoy the waves at night then have to deal with gross skin flakes days after being in the sun.

It getting closer to the end of the year, and the temperature has stayed steady their entire stay.

Taako wipes out fantastically, his board going one way as he goes another, and his face just before he falls into the drink is fabulous. Lup is so distracted that she doesn’t notice the tunnel closing too fast for her to break away, and she’s in the wash cycle.

They both silently agree to retreat to the shore, and they sit next to each other in the fluffiest towels from the Starblaster.

“So how’d it go?” She finally asks. She had seen Taako hold Barry back after his swimming lessons, and she knew her twin well enough to know where the topic would drift.

Taako shrugs, not indicating one way or the other.

Lup brings her knees close, and grumbles, “This would be so much easier if he were an elf.”

There’s a solid sound of someone falling, and Lup twists in time with her twin, mirroring him without trying. There, scrambling to his feet, is Barry J. Bluejeans, and the look on his face tells her that he had heard her.

Shit.

He’s running away, and Lup gets to her feet to race after him. “Shit, Barry! Wait! I can explain!” Her foot steps on something not sand, but she doesn’t slow down to examine what it is.

Taako does. He digs out the shiny loop of woven fibers, and idly plays with the differently colored pearls strung on the necklace. He sighs, pocketing the trinket, and follows after his sister and his swimming protege. “What a mess.” He says out loud, but no one is there to respond.


	3. Chapter 3

Taako finds them just before the Pyramid, and he is almost wishing that he didn’t.

There’s shouting. Lots of it. Basically Barrold letting out what must be all the angst he’s been holding back since his teenage years. And it can be all summed up with his last shout. “I THOUGHT I LIKED YOU!”

The human’s chest is heaving, and his hair is a mess, and Taako can spot sand dusting his skin and clothes from where he fell. Almost a whisper, Taako hears, “I thought I liked you.”

Lup looks like she is struggling to say something- anything! So he supposes it time to go save his baby sister. “Yo!” He calls with a lazy wave, and wanders over at an easy pace. “Barrold, I got a question that I’d like you to answer honestly.” He swings an arm around the human’s neck, returning the trinket to a pocket in the swimming trunks using skills that he gained from years of travel. “How powerful of a spellcaster is my sister?” Lup shuffles, and sends a look her way. “Because she really holds back if there’s a chance of anyone on the crew getting caught up in it.”

Barry opens his mouth, but Taako railroads right over him. “Physical damage is different. That stuff doesn’t stick. Well?”

Barry works his jaw, his eyes switching back and forth between the Twins. “Yeah. She’s pretty powerful wizard.”

“Give us a level,” Taako urges, scratching at his nose idly. “Like one is noobsville, and twenty is Celestial ability.” Barry looks pretty hesitant, so Taako rolls his eyes and says, “Give us a ballpark. No one is gonna get upset if you guess wrong, right Lup?” His sister nods, and is doing a very admirable job at looking at everything _but_ Barry.

“Sixteen?” Barry looks like he’s close to **_blinking_ ** right out of this situation, and that’s not such a good idea, since the human is as bad at that spell as Lup is with lightning spells. Which is to say… Taako should really get on before something catastrophic happens.

“Sure, thereabouts. So I’m going to ask a few rhetorical questions that I want you to think about before I go treat my sister to some Red Wine and grilled Ribeye steak.” Barry nods, and Taako steps away to face him directly. The human is a little taller than him, and that irks a bit, but he dismisses the thought. “Have you ever met a level sixteen Enchanter or Enchantress? Know what they can really do when they don’t care about their targets? Now what you do if you had that power? How sure would you be that anyone approaching isn’t under some thrall? What if you liked someone? That’s why elves are so great.” He says with a grin that feels fake enough to match his chipper tone.

Barry is staring at Lup, and she’s cringing. Yeah, time to finish things off. Why does Taako ever try to make things better? He always makes things worse when he tries to help. It’s a wonder that Lup still lets him intervene. “Elves and those of fey descent are immune to being charmed.” He slips his hand into his sister’s, and starts walking away. The Starblaster’s deck should be empty at this time of night. He can set up the grill there.

The human doesn’t stop them, and Taako is a little disappointed in him. Lup has always been a romantic at heart, and this would have been the perfect time to have some goopy love confession or something.

The human avoids them for some time after that one night illuminated by a single full moon. And Taako grows to seriously dislike him over the coming cycles as Lup curls a little more inwards when Barry is around.

* * *

The avoidance thing ends the same cycle Merle is busy learning some secret monk technique.

(Which is utter bullshit. Those priests or whatever singled out the one least likely to be able to willingly perform the technique. Seriously, Merle worships a Goddess of _luck_ and _battle._ This entire society has weeded out conflict with this ‘special spell’ until it is a thing of days long past. Taako may admit that he’s kinda salty about this.)

Barry approaches Lup like he’s on a mission, and stops just short of the table they are eating at. He stares her right in the eyes, and for a tense second, Taako charges up a nasty spell to get him clear of his twin. Then he asks, “Charm me?” And he’s holding out that dumb pearl necklace.

Lup doesn’t hesitate. The spell charges, and Taako casts a quick **_detect magic_ ** once he’s sure she fired it off. Nothing. Even the suspicious as fuck necklace is plain and nonmagical, just a bit old since it’s almost a decade old.

Barry grins, victorious, and then it’s replaced by something warmer and softer- and yup. Taako has had his fill of food. He stands up. Lup’s elated smile is one of the brightest he has seen in a long while. It’s good to see it back. “See you later, Lover Boy.”

And he walks out of the restaurant. And then quickly puts an illusion over himself so he can stalk them on their first date. He’s even risks buying a camera to document the occasion.

Really, Taako sighs exasperatedly, Barry could have done this right from the beginning, and this would have happened years ago. He also wouldn’t be nearly as annoyed with the human.

Whatever. Nothing a few pranks can’t fix.

* * *

Merle is still getting killed at the beginning of each cycle. Taako doesn’t know why halfpint keeps going back if he’s going to waste the year without getting any relevant information from the Hunger. But the dwarf goes and does it anyway with something said in dwarvish that he’s eighty percent sure is some battle cry for his goddess, and twenty percent that it’s some curse to kill the Hunger before it can join him in the “Parlay Parlor” as he’s started calling it.

He’s almost become a peacekeeper- which is really strange, since he still encourages the best parties.

Whatevs, Merle’s missing out on a lot of cool stuff. Like his cooking. Which- he may as well add- has only gotten better after Tesseralia.

But hey! Merle’s decided he’s done with chatting up the Hunger, and almost instantly integrated himself as a professor in this new cycle? Sweet, good for him!

Taako quickly revokes his statement after seeing him dance for the first time.

Seriously, do people even call that dancing? It’s revolting, but at the same time, Taako can’t look away. He tilts his head to the side, hoping the different angle would give him better insight.

It doesn’t.

He is going to conjure up some brain bleach after this cycle so that he won’t remember this mental damage.

* * *

Everyone seems to be doing something productive. Trying their best to gain permission to collect the _Light of Creation_ while still gathering resources and skills that might one day defeat the Hunger.

Well, everyone except him, but he is enjoying using his noggin remembering the phases and sayings of beings from the previous worlds they’ve explored. Lup always mocked him for learning them- well, who’s laughing now?

No one. Taako is enjoying his martini at the bar as he regales his students and posse with more heartfelt speeches.

His little project is probably the first one finished. It took a dictation quill following him around for a week and he wrings the ol’ grey matter of everything he can think of. The rest of the year is spent editing it.

(He might have dedicated an entire chapter to some of his favorite recipes, but it’s his book, and he wants to put it in there!”)

Nearing the end of the cycle, they approach the hole in the mountain, and present their creations.

He didn’t know that Davenport can sing, but _day-am!_ That gnome can sing!

Lup and Barrold’s duet seem to be a surprise to the rest of the crew, and Taako rolls his eyes. If they paid even a little bit of attention, they would have seen this coming years ago.

Meh.

* * *

Taako’s brain bleach might have worked a _little too well…_ He wonders why he needed something that potent, but doesn’t bother trying to remember.

“Taako, really?”

“What’d I do this time?” He looks around to see the crew looking between him and his sister. They’re all standing around the table- oh, meeting time then.

“Just **_blink_ ** and come back, I’ll recap for you later.” She’s got her face in a hand, and that look she sent him is pure exasperation.

“Fine, fine. Pushy.” He does so, and is surprised by how many Soot Sprites he chases off just by seeing them. Why are there so many? He saves that question for Lup later, and returns to the Material Plane with a quiet _pop._

“Right, so,” Lup waves her wand, and a plane illuminates between them. “We think there’s a way to wait out the Hunger- to starve it.” The _Light of Creation_ falls into this new plane, and Taako watches it split into seven smaller lights. “If we divide it, the Hunger’s trackers can’t find it. As long as there are those in the plane that want to use it and search for it, the Hunger’s trackers can’t find it.”

“I have another method.” Lucretia offers. “I’ve been working on it for years now.” She waves her own wand, and a sphere encompasses the plane with its fractured _Light of Creation_ globbing back together before Taako can’t see it anymore. “I’ve made a spell, and I think I can cast it soon, with the power of the _Light of Creation._ If the Hunger can’t reach its objective, then we win, right?”

“Lucretia, I don’t think you understand what this spell can do.” Lup adjusts the model, showing the original material plane, and then expanding it outwards, connecting it to the other twelve planes in its planar system with wispy strings of light. “What you suggest would cut off the Material plane from _everything_ else. We don’t know what kind of damage the imbalance would cause.” Sure enough, the little sphere surrounds the middle plane, and the threads connecting the planes together snap and fray.

Taako thinks that next cycle, he should convince his sister to work on making an automated hologram system. That would be cool. She is more of a detail person, and he’s a big-picture kind of guy.

The two ladies bicker back and forth, and soon sides are taken. Majority is on Lup’s side, and they agree that if the splitting idea doesn’t work, then they can do Lucretia’s plan.

* * *

“So, what’d I miss?” Taako asks, sprawling his way around the mess on his bed.

“A fuckton.” Lup sighs, leaning against his closed door. “It’s been fifty years since the Legato Conservatory.”

“The whatnow?”

“Right. It’s been fifty-one years since the Jello World.”

Taako makes a noise of understanding, and folds his hands behind his head. “And? What’d I miss?”

“You had a huge following because you plagiarized a bunch of people from other worlds. I’m pretty sure you ended up a professor of literature.”

“Yeah, that sounds like me.” Taako agrees with a smug grin. He gets a pillow to his face when his eyes are closed, but he takes it in stride. He uses it to prop himself up, and poses like one of those French models for his sister. She rolls her eyes at him, but he knows she loves him.

“Most of us were turned to stone for a year while Lucy spent her time being a rebel badass-”

“No! Get out of town!” Taako interjects scandalously, and Lup continues on like he hadn’t said a word.

“You gave me the best day of my life- seriously, I had a blast tearing that DMV apart, and the water gun fight against Bossman was the best idea ever.” Lup looks wistful and nostalgic. “Turned into a Litch with Barry- oh, by the way, we’re together now. Pretty sure we fought a dragon after that. Then we learned to craft stuff, and I’m thinking we can use that to split the _Light of Creation_ into seven creations. To dilute the scent that the Hunger is tracking.”

“Woah.” Taako calls out, pointing a finger. He emphasizes his words by jabbing his hand forward. “Stop. Pause. Rewind. Play. _Slowly._ What’s this about you and Barry being together?”

“Um. Yeah?” Lup pulls on a lock of hair in front of her ear. “We sorta played a duet together at the Conservatory in front of everyone- including you, asshole!” Another pillow comes flying at his face with a heavy _whump!_ Never think that down pillows aren’t dangerous, you just have to think creatively. Like his sister. The pillow that thwapped him in the face lifted away long enough for him to glare at Lup before it falls upon him again.

 _That menace,_ Taako ducks the third strike, caging his head with his arms, _she enchanted the damn thing!_ “Hey! Stop it! I’m not the same doofus that drank the fucking potion!”

“You are!” She calls jovially, encouraging a second pillow to join the fray. “You just can’t remember it! You even drank too much and lost more time than you meant to- like you _always_ do!”

Another attack knocks him forward, and his pointy wizard hat off his head. This single event freezes both Twins. Lup is glancing anxiously at the hat on the floor and her brother with the fake as fuck smile nailed to his face. It’s as sweet and sour as milk can be, and it sends shivers down her spine.

“You know that this means, don’t you?” Taako’s smile widens further, twisting on the ends into curls. Lup wants to say no, but she has a feeling that she knows what is about to come. Taako whips out his wand from the hidden holster in his sleeve, and starts chanting. Lup knows that she should be running, but her feet feel stuck to the flooring of the Starblaster. When he’s done, he smiles a gentle smirk. “Say hello to Teddee for me~”

And like that, Lup is free, and she is _soooooooo_ out of there. Hell no! She doesn’t need to have anymore acquaintance with Teddee the Tickle Monster.

She runs into Magnus. Literally. Falls on her butt and everything. But she recovers quickly and climbs big bulky man meat like a tree until she is as high as she can go. “Save me!” She cries, and knows in that instant, she has an ally.

Magnus is already drawing his weapon when it toddles around the corner. She can feel him melt a bit at the sight of one of the cuddliest teddy bears in existence, she hears him coo at it. It has cream colored fur that looks soft to the touch, big button eyes, and a stitched pair of nose and smile. But Lup knows better. “That _thing_ is one of the worst creatures in any plane. We need to kill it, Magnus.”

“But-” Magnus looks away to give Lup a sad disbelieving glance, and in that instant, Teddee attacks.

Teddee isn’t so cute anymore. It looks more like a slip of cream fur is holding together this mass of eldritch horrors with this creepy face of a teddy bear smiling at them with happiness and innocence.

Long, thin, black tendrils sneak out through the stitching, and weaves itself around Magnus’ feet. (Huh, Maggie’s ticklish around his feet, good to know…) Their support is gone when Teddee pulls hard enough to unbalance the human, and they both topple over, prone. At the mercy of Teddee the Tickle Monster.

Peals of laughter fill the Starblaster. But no one can seem to find the source when they decide to search.

Taako smiles, satisfied with his work, brushes off the dust on his hat, and returns it to it’s rightful place on his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, bookmarked, and subscribed. You're all great fantastic people!!
> 
> Also, there's probably going to be a prequel/sequel going up that is in the same universe, but it starts at the beginning of... The Adventure Zone!


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